“La Pause Décoloniale”: Women Decolonizing Kanaky One Episode at a Time

“La Pause Décoloniale” is a radio show and podcast from Kanaky/New Caledonia that explores women’s reflections, formulations of, and contributions to decolonization. Created in February 2022, it operates in a context of ongoing French settler colonialism and through a formal decolonization process. However, this formal decolonization process has been questioned and critiqued, especially when it comes to France’s interest to maintain its sovereignty in Kanaky/New Caledonia and in the Pacific region more generally. This paper explores “La Pause Décoloniale” as a feminist intervention by women to resist the despair and disappointment generated by the current political context. It discusses how the radio program came about, presents the members of the team and how they work collaboratively, and their vision of the relation between feminism and decolonization. The paper also reflects on the episodes produced and the importance of translation. It does so by connecting the practice of “La Pause Décoloniale” to the history of women’s political action in the Pacific and in Kanaky/New Caledonia and making visible the constellation of relations to people, to place(s), and to struggles that are necessary to meaningfully do the work of decolonization.